The Worldgate 2: Into our World
by G'lek
Summary: Michael's family is going on a two week vacation and Michael gets to look after the house. Not that he cares. He has 5 Viking friends and their dragons, and this is two weeks none of them will forget. T for language and violence in later chapters.
1. Here We Go Again

**A/N:** *Sing-song voice* Here I go again on my own! Going down the only road I've ever know!

_::AAUUGGHH::_

Shush, I'm not that bad of a singer.

_::Tell that to my ears.::_

Welcome to The Worldgate 2: Into our World. Can't let Michael have all the fun, what with going to Berk and all. When the parents (and siblings and neighbors) are gone, the Vikings will play (or something like that). Hiccup and friends get a culture shock. Someone commented on the prequel that it seemed a bit short. I'll try to make this one longer, it's just the longer I make a story, the quicker I run out of ideas and the less believable (I think) it becomes. Still trying to find a balance.

This is just a short prologue. Expect longer chapters from here onward.

**Legend:**_  
::Dragon Speak::_ - Michael can understand it, no one else can._  
Thoughts_ – Private to the person having them.  
"English." - I know Vikings speak Norse (or something) but I can't be bothered with translating.  
[1] – Supplementary info, see A/N 2 for more info (only for things that you probably don't know but should if things are going to make sense).

* * *

Michael could barely contain himself. He managed to keep his face straight while his family packed their bags, got in the car, and left. As soon as they were out of view down the street, Michael let the grin form. They were gone! His mother, father, and two sisters were gone on vacation and he had been left to watch the house.

Every summer, Michael's family went on vacation for two weeks while one person stayed behind to watch the house and property. It had been the exclusive job of Karine but now that Michael was eighteen and old enough to stay home alone, it would alternate between him and his older sister. Normally, he would have been upset about being left out of the fun, but what his family didn't realize was that he was going to have fun of his own. Fun that involved five teens and their dragons.

Any other time, Michael would have dismissed the idea of having Hiccup and his friends over, but it seemed like whatever gods there were liked him, because the closest of his neighbors were also gone for a while (all summer). That meant no one would be around to notice the dragons. Michael smiled at his backyard. His dad had spent years growing tall hedges around the large yard [1]. They would keep any passer-byes from seeing inside. They were tall enough to hide even Astrid's Nadder, who was the tallest of the dragons when idling. They probably wouldn't hide a dragon when it reared up, but Michael knew that wouldn't be a problem. The teens dragon's were not the kind to get worked up about nothing.

Michael had been visiting Berk every week or so since his adventure in September. He had become a good friend of Hiccup since the two were so similar. Things went smoothly for the most part. Some Vikings still had misgivings about dragons and even more so about a half-dragon. More then one Viking had been dumped in the ocean after threatening Michael. About half of those had been Michael's doing, usually only when he felt like violence was going to happen. The other half were performed by Toothless who had, despite his continued grudge about being shot and then stuck in bed for a week and a half, had warmed up to Michael a fair bit. The two often had lively discussions about various draconic things, lively meaning they usually ended up being told to shut up or get out by Stoick and, on two occasions, had resulted in wrestling matches which had taken eight Vikings and Hiccup to separate them.

One such discussion had been about mating. Toothless and Michael had been discussing dragon behaviour when Toothless had brought the topic of mating up. He had been more then happy to talk about dragon mating habits, but Michael hadn't been comfortable. Toothless had picked up on his discomfort and, having a grudge, began to needle Michael about it. Michael eventually lost his temper in a rather spectacular manner which the Night Fury took personal offence to. Things had quickly devolved from there into dirt wrestling. Stoick and Hiccup had not been happy. Things had been icy between Michael and Toothless for a bit until Hiccup gave Toothless and earful. Michael hadn't heard that conversation, but Toothless eventually apologized after being hauled out of the house by an angry Hiccup (who had a firm grip on the dragon's ear flap). Michael had been rather pleased since Hiccup's reaction was a direct result of Michael explaining what had happened.

Michael pulled himself out of his memories and locked the doors behind him. With a happy smile, he made his way into the forest behind his house. These next two weeks were going to be a blast... Figuratively, Michael hoped.

* * *

**A/N 2:** And there it is. Part 2 starts.

*Sing-song voice* It's summer time, it's our vacation!

_::Whimper::_

Seriously, it's not that bad, GROW UP!

[1] Michael's yard is about half a hectare (50m x 50m) with 25 meters between his yard and his neighbors (forested) and 2 kilometers between the back of his yard and his school (all forested). Then the neighbors have the same sized yards + 25 meters to the next yard.


	2. Welcome To My World

**A/N:** This chapter is all about shock. Culture shock. Man, are Hiccup and friends in for it.

_::Not us dragons.::_

Oh yes, you guys to.

_::I'm a Night Fury, nothing shocks me!::_

We'll see about that. This chapter might get boring since Michael does a lot of explaining about things like light bulbs. I'm hoping this will be the length of chapters from now on.

**Replies to past reviews:**

buggy1997123: No, Hiccup hasn't seen Michael's laptop. He's seen the case, but not the machine itself.

Toothless-the-nightfury: I love the idea of Toothless teaching Michael fire breathing... and flight seeing as Michael has yet to learn it himself. Plus, it gives me a chance for Toothless to get some revenge for being shot.

**Legend:**_  
::Dragon speak::_ - Michael can understand it, no one else._  
Thoughts_ – Private to the character  
"English" - Everyone speaks it.

* * *

Hiccup was walking to the forge. It was one of the more pleasant days in Berk, warm and sunny, but still windy. Hiccup sighed. It had been a while since he had gotten a break from his boring daily routine of training Vikings in the morning and working the forge in the afternoon. His dad had said if he could come up with somewhere he wanted to go that didn't involve dragging along half the village as supervision, he and the other teens could have a few weeks. So far, nothing had presented itself.

Hiccup was pulled out of his thoughts when Toothless, who was never far away, tackled him to the ground. Before he could complain, a figure swooped through the spot he'd been standing seconds ago. It landed in a graceless tumble. Toothless chuckled to himself. As the figure extradited itself from the hay cart it had landed in, Hiccup figured out who it was.

"Michael! Where did you come from?"

"I was trying to sneak up on you. I jumped from a nearby house."

_::And fell flat on your face.::_ Toothless snorted smugly.

"Shut up." Michael snapped.

_::You really should learn how to use those wings. There for more then just looking cool.::_

"Yah? You volunteering to teach me?"

_::No. Why would I teach you?::_

"Anyhow..." Hiccup said, trying to shift topics. "Why are you here?"

"You're going to love this. My family is gone on vacation for two weeks, as are both my neighbors. You could come visit like you've been wanting to. My yard is big enough for a Night Fury, heck, probably big enough for five dragons."

"No way! This is perfect. My dad said I could get a few weeks off if I could find somewhere to go and someone to supervise me."

"Heh, great. Go tell him and then pack up. I'll go tell the others."

_::Watch your step. Wouldn't want to damage any more carts, now would we?::_

"Yah, sure, worry about the carts, not my health."

-IAMAHORIZONTALPAGEDIVIDER-

It didn't take long for the five teens and their dragons to gather up what they needed. It took Hiccup even less time to convince his dad to let them go. The moment Stoick heard that Michael had volunteered to take four teens, and Hiccup, plus their dragons off his hands for two weeks, Hiccup practically had to fight to keep his dad from chucking him out the door.

They all met Michael at the edge of the forest. The dragons were free of any riding gear (except Toothless) at Michael's request. There wouldn't be much flying in his world. Not without attracting the wrong kind of attention.

"Okay!" Michael said to the ten gathered before him. "Some basic rules while you're staying at my place. First, dragons, no fire of any kind. That means no breathing fire and no lighting yourself on fire."

_::Why?::_ Whined Fireworm.

"Simple. My house is surrounded by forest and it's been a dry summer. A forest fire would be bad. So, no fire. Next, no flying."

_::What?::_ Said Astrid's Nadder.

"This is going to come as a shock to everyone except Hiccup, but dragons don't exist in my world."

"What!" Everyone said at once.

"It's true. If they did exist, then they don't anymore. Except as myth and legend. So, seeing a dragon flying around is going to attract the wrong kind of attention. So, for everyone's safety, no flying unless I say otherwise. Next rule, no stealing. That would attract attention as well. You'll all be fed, don't worry. Vikings, your turn. You will touch nothing in my house without asking first."

"What?" Snotlout complained.

"Look, not everything in my house is safe if you don't know what it does and how to use it. Ask first. I'll explain what it is and what it does, and tell you if it's safe to use. Next, you will not wear your Viking clothes in my world. This is to avoid attention. I'll provide you with modern clothes. Finally, all of you are going to bath regularly."

"How regularly?" Fishlegs inquired.

"Once a day. Don't worry, I'll show you how I plan to manage that. Ok, last thing. This is for everyone. If in doubt, ask me first. Use your common sense. I don't want to attract attention, not do I want to get in trouble with my parents. If you have any doubts about whether or not you should do something, ask me ASAP."

"ASAP?" Hiccup asked.

"As soon as possible. Okay, everyone's got the rules? Then lets go."

-IAMAHORIZONTALPAGEDIVIDER-

None of the teens noticed when they went through the Worldgate. The dragons did, but were silent on it. Soon, the hedge around Michael's yard was visible.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Snotlout said. "Where did that come from?"

"None of you noticed, but we passed through the Worldgate a while ago. You're not on Berk anymore, you're on the continent of North America, in the country of Canada. This is the hedge around my backyard. It's tall enough to conceal a dragon."

Various murmurs of amazement passed between the teens. "Dragons, you'll need to make a quick hop to get over. Go ahead." The dragons effortlessly jumped the hedge. Michael led the teens to the back gate, fumbling with the latch mechanism. His dad was paranoid, and had gotten a special latch that was hard to open unless you knew what you were doing. Finally, Michael popped that latch and opened that gate. He lead the teens into the yard.

It was a standard backyard. Half was open space, and the other half close to the house was occupied by a gazebo, pond with fountain, and a deck with a hot tub. The house was an unassuming two story house with light blue siding and a black shingle roof. The fountain grabbed the attention of everyone.

"How does that work?" Hiccup asked curiously.

"There's a small pump in the pond that sucks up water and spits it out."

"But what powers the pump?" Astrid asked.

"Ah, that's the first new thing you'll encounter here, and the most common. Electricity."

"You mean like lightning?" Fishlegs asked nervously.

"Sort of. Lightning is electricity on overdrive. We use it for all kinds of useful things here, like light, cooking, entertainment, everything."

"How does it work?" Hiccup asked eagerly.

"I'll explain later. First, we need to get all of you bathed and in new clothes so you don't stand out."

"Hah, nothing would keep Ruff from standing out." Tuffnut laughed.

"At least people notice me!" Ruffnut shot back.

"Yah? I'm amazed they do since they're all so busy looking at me!"

"Are not!"

"Are to!"

"Both of you stop now." Michael growled. "Come on, I'll show you inside while the dragons get settled in."

Inside was even more amazing for everyone. The lock on the door fascinated Hiccup, who wanted to take it apart. Everything about Michael's world was new. The idea of drywall was new. Fishlegs marveled at that.

"How do you get the walls so smooth?" He asked as they entered the back room.

"Drywall. It's a dried mud between two sheets of paper. Doesn't add much in terms of structure, but makes things look nice." Michael said as he reached for the light switch for the kitchen. The sudden light caught everyone off guard.

"What is that?" Hiccup asked.

"More electricity at work. It's called a light bulb. By forcing the electricity through a small wire, it causes the wire to get white hot." Michael explained as he moved into the kitchen. "Right, this is the kitchen. I'm sure Vikings know what a kitchen is. Table, sink, counters, fridge, stove, and so on."

"Stove?" Hiccup asked.

"Fridge?" Astrid said.

"Sink?" inquired Fishlegs

"Okay." Michael sighed. "A sink is a basin for holding water. It has a tap where the water comes from and a drain to let it out. A fridge is like an ice box that uses electricity to keep food cold. A stove does the opposite. It uses electricity to heat things up, like cooking them over a fire. Now come on, I'll show you your rooms."

They went to the front of the house. There were two rooms off the hallway that connected the kitchen to the front door. The right room was a family room with couches and chairs and a fireplace. To the left was an entertainment room with the TV and all its equipment. Running along the left side was a set of stairs going to the second level. Michael led them up the stairs. There were four rooms, two on either side of the hall and a bathroom at the end.

"Okay, since there's only four rooms, three since no one is sleeping in my parent's, and seven of us, we're going to have to split people up. Karine's room is the largest, so Fishlegs, Snotlout, and Tuffnut will sleep there. I've got sleeping bags for two of you. Who gets the bed is up to you guys to decide... Non-violently." Michael added after seeing the looks between the three.

"Astrid and Ruffnut will get Ally's room, again, one of you will get the bed, and Hiccup will be in my room. And no, you don't get the bed."

"What?" Hiccup said.

"Don't complain. I've got air mattresses for the people sleeping on the ground. Obviously, don't touch anything in the rooms unless you've talked to me first. Ally probably won't notice if something is out of place, but Karine will and probably would tear me up. Finally, that's the bathroom."

"Bathroom?" Tuff said, sounding out the new word.

"Yes. It's where you bath and do your business. I'll explain that now since each of you IS going to bath and get in proper clothes."

Michael opened the door to the bathroom, revealing the tiled surface, the sink, toilet, and shower/bath. "Okay, I trust you can figure the toilet out on your own. The shower is simple. Turn the tap until the water is at whatever temperature you want it. One side is cold, the other is hot... When I say hot, I mean scalding. Then, you pull the knob on the spout and water will come out of the shower head."

"Cool, so we can wash with hot water?" Snotlout said eagerly.

"There's more to it then that. Soap you guys know about. Shampoo on the other hand, you don't. This bottle," Michael said, holding up a clear plastic bottle, "has shampoo. You put some in your hand and then rub it into your hair. Then rinse."

"What's that bottle made of?" Hiccup asked.

"Hmm? Oh, it's plastic, another marvel of modern technology. Plastic is made from oil. You add certain chemicals then heat the entire mixture. The end result is a tough, durable, waterproof material that can also be flexible. It can be clear, opaque, and any color of the rainbow."

"Wow, wouldn't that be useful." Hiccup said.

"Okay, who's showering first?"

"Duh, I am." Snotlout said, pushing to the front of the teens.

"Fine. One second." Michael exited the room and returned with a armful of clothes. "Alright, this stuff was mine when I was younger, it should fit decently. I've got socks, underwear, jeans, and a t-shirt."

Michael handed Snotlout the clothes and then got the others to give him privacy. They gathered in the kitchen while Michael made drinks. The sound of Snotlout yelping brought chuckles to everyone.

"Idiot probably didn't listen about the water temperature." Michael said, pouring everyone some lemonade. The dragons had settled nicely, enjoying the warm weather, warmer then anything the Vikings had ever seen. Michael sighed as he sat down with his drink and braced himself for Hiccup's interrogation about everything. The first couple days would be rough will everyone got used to their new environment. However, after that, things would get interesting.

* * *

**A/N 2:** You think Hiccup has a lot of questions now? Just wait until electronics come into play. I mean, TV, computers, movies (hint hint), radio... Should be fun. Michael really should have been paying more attention to what movies his family was watching while he was in school. He's in for a nasty surprise when he sees what DVD is now in the family's collection.

_::I like the sun. This is great.::_

For now... For now...

_::...Why are you looking at me like that?::_

*Slightly evil chuckle*

As always, reviews are appreciated so long as their constructive.


	3. Get Over It

**A/N:** Sorry about no update yesterday, but I had to get my school work done. Now, I've got the rest of the week to handle writing and whatever else comes up.

Taking advice, I'm stopping with the witty dividers and going to something more professional.

Go ahead, read.

**Legend:**_  
::Dragon speak::_ - For dragons (and Michael) only._  
Thoughts_ – Private to the character

* * *

When Snotlout finally came downstairs from his shower, he was red from head to toe. Hiccup, Astrid, Fishlegs, and Ruffnut managed not to laugh, but Tuffnut couldn't help himself. He gave a quick guff before Snotlout shot a glare the silenced him.

"What have we learned?" Michael asked, sounding smug. When Snotlout didn't respond, Michael sighed. "Let me quote someone. 'A child learns not to touch a stove, not because his parents say 'it's hot, don't touch' but because he has tears in his eyes and a blister on his finger. Hopefully he also learns to listen to his parents.'"

"What?" Snotlout said.

"It means learn your lesson. I warned you it was hot, but you didn't listen. Maybe now you'll listen to me when I warn you about things."

"Yeah, whatever." Snotlout mumbled. His pride was more injured then anything.

"Whose next?" Michael asked.

"I am, of course." Tuffnut said, standing up.

"In your dreams!" Ruffnut responded.

"Rock, paper, scissors." Michael said.

"Huh?"

"Rock breaks scissors, scissors cuts paper, paper covers rock." Michael explained making each symbol with his hands. It didn't take long. Ruffnut won, knowing her brother would chose rock. Michael provided her with some of Karine's old clothes and she went to shower. It took the rest of the morning to get everyone showered and properly clothed. Michael whipped up sandwiches for everyone.

The questions never seemed to stop coming. Hiccup and Fishlegs were the worst. Ruff, Tuff, and Snotlout didn't seem to care about how. Astrid would ask if something caught here interest, but she mostly let Hiccup talk. The question and answer session took them into the evening. Dinner was quick macaroni and cheese. Everyone seemed to enjoy the new food. The dragons didn't need to be fed until the next day. Michael was still trying to work out how to get them fed.

Once dinner was over, Michael lead everyone into the entertainment room. Once everyone was comfortable, he knelt down and started sifting through the DVD collection for a good, scary movie. Snotlout still believed he could beat anything. Michael wanted him to see something he couldn't beat. As he looked, a case caught his attention. It wasn't a movie he had seen, so it was new, but the picture on the cover was way to familiar for his liking. Particularly the dragon and teen. He shoved the movie under the entertainment center. He'd deal with this later. Finally, he found what he wanted.

"Okay, we're going to watch a movie." Michael said, immediately putting his hands up to ward off questions. "I'll answer questions later, for now, just enjoy the benefit of modern technology."

Michael popped the DVD into the unit and started the TV. He had chosen the Alien vs. Predator movie for several reasons. One, it was one of his favorite movies. Two, Aliens were terrifying. Three, Predators were cool and bad to the bone. Four, he wanted to scare the daylight out of the teens.

Michael was careful to keep the volume down. He had a suspicion that, for all their intelligence, a dragon would not immediately realize that there was no real danger from the monstrosities on the screen. The teens were quiet engaged in the movie until the Alien Queen appeared. Michael watched as every eye went dinner plate wide at the sight of it.

By the time the movie was over, Michael was certain a couple of the Vikings would not sleep well that night. Predators had the Vikings' respect for their strength and combat prowess, but the Aliens were monsters worse then any dragon, even the Red Death.

"Well, it's late, and I think sleep would be a good idea." Michael said. "Have you guys decided who gets the beds?"

That lead to several rapid games of rock, paper, scissors. Soon, everyone was in their rooms. Hiccup looked at Michael who was brushing his teeth. Once he was done, Michael went to his room with Hiccup following. He opened the door revealing a large number of weapons on the walls.

Hiccup was nervous. He recognized most of the weapons as guns, but there were two bows among them. Michael noticed Hiccup's anxiety.

"Don't worry, none of them are real." Michael assured him. "Well, the bows are, but none of the guns."

Hiccup, not exactly reassured, looked around the room. A bed along one side, a desk on the opposite wall on which was sitting a black object, a bookshelf filled with books, none of which Hiccup could read, and a small TV in one corner with a white box connected to it by wires. In the middle of the floor was a sleeping bag with a thin air mattress underneath.

Hiccup sighed and got into the sleeping bag. Michael killed the light and everyone went to sleep.

\\-\\

Toothless was awoken by a sharp thunk nearby. Moaning, he opened his eyes. Like many dragons, Toothless was not a morning person. Especially since he was semi-nocturnal. The source of his awakening was standing nearby. Michael. Toothless grumbled slightly until he realized what the young man was up to. He had a bow in his right hand and a quiver along the opposite hip. He pulled an arrow out, notched it, and pulled back.

Toothless had seen bows before, the Vikings did have them. They were used more for hunting then for combat. Dragons made for hard targets and arrows were time-consuming to produce. However, the bow Michael had possessed some form of pulley system. Toothless watched as Michael pulled back, seeming to have a increasingly harder time pulling the string. That was expected. The more you pull, the harder it gets. Suddenly, he drew the string full back as if there was no resistance. Toothless realized the pulleys must make it hard to pull at first but then make it easier to hold.

Michael aimed at an inch-thick sheet of wood nailed in place against a tree. He released and the arrow flew true to its target. Toothless watched as the arrow drove itself half way into the tree. The pulleys obviously gave the bow more force. Enough to punch through dragon scale. Toothless was quickly on edge. The last time Michael had a weapon, he had put the dragon in a bed for a week and a half. An unconscious snarl escaped his mouth.

Michael reacted quickly. A third arrow was already notched and while he hadn't drawn the bow, he had turned to face the now crouching dragon.

"What?" Michael asked.

_::The bow... put it down.::_ Toothless growled.

"What, you think I'm going to shoot you?"

_::Last time you had a weapon, you did.::_ He snarled.

"Out of self-defense." Michael replied, pausing before adding, "And I'll do it again."

Toothless' growled went up several levels. He was so focused on Michael and Michael on him, neither noticed a very sleepy Hiccup staggering up.

"Morning." Hiccup started only to be caught in the chest by a black paw with enough force to send him flying a few feet.

Toothless was dumbstruck. He had been so on edge about Michael he had reacted instinctively to the sudden voice beside him. Even as he twisted, bringing a paw to bear on the person who had surprised him, he knew who it was. He watched as time slowed, seeing Hiccup tumble and land in a lump. He was moving before the teen hit the ground. By the time Hiccup came to a rest, Toothless was on top of him whining and licking him while checking to make sure he was alright.

_::Hiccup! Are you okay? Is anything broken? Are you bleeding? Say something!::_

"Toothless..." Hiccup wheezed. "Bad dragon."

Toothless relaxed. Despite what Hiccup had said, his voice had a joking tone to it. Hiccup wouldn't have used that tone unless he was really okay and not the slightest bit upset. Obviously the teen had realized it had been a mistake to sneak up on Toothless when he was in such a state.

"Yeah, bad dragon." Michael chuckled from where he was standing. He knew Hiccup was alright. Toothless had realized who had startled him and softened his blow significantly. Michael reached a hand down to help Hiccup to his feet. Once there, Hiccup leaned on Toothless, clearly feeling the blow.

"I've got to go make breakfast. If you're up, Hiccup, the others won't be far behind. And from experience, there's nothing worse then a hungry Viking."

Hiccup watched Michael leave before sitting down and leaning against Toothless.

"You can't keep holding a grudge like this, Tooth." Hiccup said, using the dragon's nickname. Toothless grumbled. Hiccup never used that name unless he telling the dragon something he didn't want to hear. Toothless most certainly did not want to hear Hiccup's opinion on his behavior around Michael.

"I mean, you actually hit me. I know you held back once you realized it was me, but if that had been Snotlout or Fishlegs, they could have been really hurt if you didn't realize who they were." The dragon only rumbled in reply.

"Toothless, if you can't get a hold on this... I don't know what I'll do, but you won't like it."

Toothless was now staring at Hiccup with a distressed look. Hiccup had never before suggested punishing the Night Fury, at least not personally. Stoick would throw him out from time to time, but that was the worst of it.

_::You're joking, right?::_ He whined desperately.

"Tooth."

_Second use of that name._ The dragon flinched.

"Seriously. If I think you're going to hurt someone because of this..." Hiccup paused, struggling to get the words out. "I'll... I'll have to restrain you."

The dragon's eyes went wide in shock. Restrain him? Like with chains? Toothless whimpered. For Hiccup to even suggest something like that... His behavior must have been worse then he realized. Toothless pulled Hiccup as close as possible, nuzzling him and crooning gently.

_::I won't let that happen. I promise!::_ Toothless assured his Viking.

Hiccup sighed and started scratching the dragon behind his ear-flap. Together, they watched the sun rise over the forest.

**

* * *

A/N 2:** Yay! Toothless finally got over his issues with Michael.

I've got nothing to say. Review please! Helps me get better.


	4. Of Breakfast and Video Games

**A/N:** So, I finally found inspiration for the next chapter. Breakfast, Viking style!

* * *

Hiccup walked back into the house. Michael was busy in the kitchen and Hiccup could tell by the delicious smells that this would be a breakfast to remember. Hiccup entered the kitchen and was caught by the music. It was unlike anything the teen had heard. A steady, rapid beat with sounds that no instrument could make. Twangs, thrums, warbling sounds clashed against the steady heartbeat of the music and yet the end product was surprisingly enjoyable.

"You going to stand there catching flies or are you going to help me?" Michael asked.

"Oh... right."

Hiccup had never been a good cook, so Michael set him to the tasks requiring less culinary skill, such as setting the table and making juice. It took about ten minutes for Fishlegs to come downstairs, no doubt following his nose.

"That smells good." Fishlegs commented.

"It does, but you're not getting anything until you're showered and dressed. Same with everyone else."

"Awww." Fishlegs said.

"If you go now, you can beat the others."

"Sweet!"

Fishlegs was up the stairs faster then Hiccup had seen him move before, with the exception of in Dragon Training. Hiccup shook his head. He had already showered and dressed. The next one down the stairs was Tuffnut. He was told the same thing as Fishlegs. Hiccup wondered how he had gotten downstairs without waking his twin up. Turns out he hadn't, Ruffnut had decided to get dressed before coming downstairs. She immediately punched her brother saying, "Thanks for waiting butt-elf."

When Astrid came down, she was already showered. Ruff and Tuff started complaining that they had been next in line for showering. Astrid silenced them with a glare before sitting next to Hiccup. Ruff and Tuff did Rock, Paper, Scissors for next shower and Ruff won again. Snotlout still hadn't gotten up.

"I'm going to go wake that lazy slug up." Michael said, standing up. "Don't be alarmed."

Michael went upstairs and seconds later, there was a thump followed by a string of curses from Snotlout. Michael came back downstairs looking smug.

"What'd you do?" Ruffnut asked.

"Flipped his mattress and dumped him on the floor. Dodged a swing before telling him if he wanted food, he needed to shower and get his lazy ass downstairs."

Ruffnut laughed at this and everyone else chuckled. Soon enough, Snotlout joined them at the table. Michael brought out the food. It was a real mixed bag of pancakes, french toast, sausages, eggs in many forms, hash browns, and fresh orange juice. The teens dug in voraciously. Michael would have thought they hadn't been fed for days.

"Thinking of feeding..." Michael muttered to himself.

"Wath?" Snotlout said past the food in his mouth.

"Swallow, then talk moron."

"Sorry." Snotlout said after swallowing. "What are you mumbling about?"

"Food, for the dragons."

"Good point." Astrid said. She was eating in a more controlled manner then the standard demolish method Vikings used.

"Flight is too risky this close to the city. There's no fish-able lakes or anything nearby that doesn't have a human settlement."

"You say that like humans are a different species." Hiccup commented.

"They are." Michael returned. "Anywho, I don't have enough money to pay for their food for two weeks. Not with how much they eat. And I doubt Stoick would be happy if we sent the dragons back since he's under the impression he doesn't have to deal with any of you for two weeks."

"So then how do we feed them?" Fishlegs asked.

"When do they need to eat again?"

"Horrowcrow should be fine until tomorrow." Fishlegs said.

"Spit and Spat as well." Tuffnut commented.

"Fireworm's going to need food today." Snotlout informed Michael.

"Toothless will probably want to be fed today, but I think he'll wait if he has to." Hiccup said.

"Can Fireworm wait Snotlout?" Michael asked.

"I dunno. Go ask her yourself."

"Thanks for that." Michael said. Under his breath, he muttered, "Dick."

Hiccup chuckled having heard Michael's comment. Michael began to clean up. Hiccup and Astrid helped while the others watched. Michael made a mental note to get even later. An idea hit him of how to do that. Once everything was cleaned up, Michael lead the teens to the media room. He pulled four white objects from the cabinet and gave one to Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the twins. He then went upstairs and returned with his small TV, the white box from his room, and three more objects.

"Right, while we think of a way to feed the dragons, I'm going to mop the floor with you guys."

"Sure, yeah right." Snotlout said.

"Really." Michael said, plugging in several cables and then connecting the two white boxes with a blue cable. He turned on both TVs and then the white boxes. A silver sphere appeared on the screen before a green X was melted into it and the whole image spun rapidly. Finally, it settled down into the Xbox logo. Michael quickly setup several guest profiles for the teens, none of which had their real names in case Michael forgot to delete them. He popped a disc into each Xbox. Then he passed out the objects.

"What are these?" Fishlegs asked.

"Controllers. You use them to play games on the TV."

"How?" Hiccup asked.

"I'm not getting into a lesson on computers, microprocessors, and that now. I'll give the short explanation. In each of these white boxes is a special machine that does math really fast. It takes information from the controllers and uses it to figure out how to display pictures on the screen."

"How fast?"

"Billions of calculations every second."

"Wow."

"Yeah. Now, like I said, I'm going to mop the floor with you guys."

The Halo game lasted about two hours. The end score was two hundred for Michael and one hundred and twenty six for the other teens combined. Hiccup had the best score of the teens. They tried Gears of War, and the result was more or less the same. Michael quickly realized Hiccup was a mean sniper. The teen had an uncanny ability to pick the right time to pull the trigger. By the time lunch rolled around, Hiccup was closing on Michael in score.

"Damn Hiccup, you're the best new player I've seen. You sure this is your first time?"

"Yeah I'm sure."

"Hey, what's this?" Ruffnut asked, reaching under the entertainment center to grab something. She pulled out a DVD case and her eyes went dinner plate wide.

"Ah, shit." Michael said under his breath, and this time Hiccup didn't hear him.

* * *

**A/N 2:** Oh boy, things are about to get interesting. I'm glad I managed to make a new chapter. This story has been sitting way to long. I'll try to balance with writing A Pilot Chosen at the same time. However, if it comes down to it, A Pilot Chosen will be given first priority since I've got a plan for it and not this one.

As always, review. You're advice is much appreciated.


	5. Homecoming

**A/N:** I really need to say a huge thank you to mohla(dot)mohla who's helped clear my writer's block on this story AND helped me come up with a concept for a new story that will continue on from this one. This is the last Worldgate story I'll be writing. In place of future Worldgate stories will be... well, that's a surprise. You'll just have to wait and see. On with the story.

* * *

Everyone was trying to get a good look at whatever had dumb-struck Ruffnut. None of the teens had seen the expression she was currently wearing on her face before.

"Lemme see Ruff!" Tuffnut was shouting. "Come on, I'm your brother!"

"Shut up butt-elf." Ruffnut snapped at him before turning to Michael and holding the DVD case for everyone to see. "This what you were hiding last night?"

There was a collective dropping of jaws from the other teens. The dragon and human on the front of the case were undeniable Hiccup and Toothless. It took several minutes for things to quiet down. When Michael finally got everyone settled, he started an explanation.

"First, I honestly didn't know about this until last night. I'd been so busy with school I payed next to no attention to what my family was doing. After all, I was a month behind. Apparently, in my world, you guys are all fictional characters."

"Like, we're not real?"

"Like, you're something some creative writer thought up and made a story out of. There's a series of children's books by the same name and a movie was made later. Seems like the movie is the more accurate of the two. This presents a huge problem. There's no way you guys can be seen in public. The chaos would be unimaginable."

"As unimaginable as the chaos that's about to happen?" Astrid asked from where she was standing by the window.

Michael looked out and for the briefest of instants, his heart stopped. His parents were pulling into the driveway. He had maybe sixty seconds at most before Hell broke loose. Not being good at high stress situations, Michael froze, analyzing every option. There was no way to hide that he'd had friends over. The number of dishes, the air mattresses and sleeping bags, all of it couldn't be hidden. The teens, on the other hand, could be out the back door in under thirty seconds.

"Out the back, now! Take your dragons! GO!"

Michael had been wrong. It only to twenty seconds for the teens to vacate the house. The front door opened and Michael peeked his head around the corner.

"Mom, dad! You guys are back. Why so early?"

"Traffic was a mess, weather was bad out that ways." Anne replied. "Our hotel was closed due to flooding. Are you alright Michael?"

"Huh, oh, yeah, fine." Michael stuttered slightly.

"Son, what's with your arm?" Jason asked, pointing to the dragon shaped patch of scales which Michael normally kept covered.

"Wha- This? It's nothing."

"That's not nothing." Karine said. "That looks like some sort of infection."

"No, it's nothing." Michael lied.

"Michael..." Jason said warningly.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Michael muttered.

"Try me." Karine snapped, stepping closer. "You disappeared for a month! You had all of us in panic, you nearly gave mom a heart attack! If this has something to do with all that nonsense, you better start talking!" She threatened, grabbing the front of Michael's shirt. "Cus if you don't, I'm going to make you talk!"

"Karine, that's quite enough!" Jason barked. "There will be no threatening in this house unless it's done by me or Anne, and there will be no violence period."

"Michael, I know you don't want to talk about what happened, but if this is some sort of infection, it needs to be handled."

"You want to know why I've got scales growing on my arm? Fine." Michael focused hard, bringing to mind his white anthro dragon form. He imagined the feeling of it, having scales, the fire in your heart. He imagined the feeling of wings on his shoulders and a tail behind him. The sharpening of the sense that came with being a dragon. He felt that familiar tingle all over and heard his family gasp. When he opened his eyes again, they were ice blue with black slits.

"Michael... wha-wha-what is this?" Anne stuttered.

"Michael, how...I mean...This is... it just isn't possible." Jason stammered.

"Yeah, it is." Michael said in a sibilant voice. "I'm a half-dragon dad."

"You didn't make a deal with the devil or something?" Anne asked.

"No, don't be ridiculous. One second, I'll be right back."

Michael walked to the back door and called out.

"S'okay guys, you can come back."

"Really?" Hiccup called back.

"Yeah, really. They're still handling my shape-shift."

"Okay."

The dragons popped back over the fence. By now, Michael's family had joined him at the back door. Seeing the dragons nearly gave Anne a heart attack on the spot. Toothless was the last over the fence and brought a new round of gasps. Hiccup finally managed the fiddly lock on the gate and the teens came into the yard.

"Michael... Is that who I think it is?" Karine asked, her anger having vanished at his transformation.

"Yeah, it is. My family, meet the Viking teens of Berk and their dragons."

/-/

It took Michael almost an hour to get his story told. His family was constantly interrupting, asking questions and generally being disbelieving. When things finally settled down, Michael left his family to talk to the Berk teens. He needed a few minutes to himself. He didn't operate well in situations where he was under scrutiny.

Michael glanced at his laptop and noticed it was on. Walking over, he found his email open and a message sitting in his inbox. It was titled 'Your order: 1 digital copy of The Imaginarium Universia'. The message came from Odin(at)Valhalla(dot)net. Michael frowned. Someone had a strange sense of humor. He opened the message.

Dear Michael,

It is with great pleasure that I give you this copy of The Imaginarium Universia, also known as The Universe of Imagination. In this book you will find information on every place in the universe along with a guide on how to reach them.

You are the first mortal to discover the Worldgates. As such, because I made a bet with Thor, you are to be given a copy of this book. You may do as you see fit with it.

The book is in the attached PDF file. It is my hope that you can use the knowledge you have been given to help humanity grow and prosper. Much of what is in the book is simply a base knowledge of the worlds. The other gods do not agree that you should be given access to all the knowledge normally contained in this book. It will be up to you to expand on what is already in the book and bring it to its full potential.

Best of Luck,

Odin

Michael read the message several times. There was indeed a PDF attached, but it was only a few kilobytes. Michael opened it anyway. What he saw struck him dumb. Somehow, in only a few kilobytes, there was over nine thousand pages, all with graceful flowing text and full color illustrations. Michael looked back at the message. Either the sender was a real programming guru and had some sort of super compressor, or the message was really from a god. Michael decided to go with the god idea.

Michael pulled out his custom built e-reader. It hadn't seen much use since his laptop went nearly everywhere with him, but his laptop was less portable and had terrible battery life. He transferred the file. Suddenly, his laptop gave him a low battery warning when only moment ago, it had been fully charged.

"Weird." Michael muttered to himself. He stowed the reader away and went back to dealing with his family. So far, no one seemed to be shouting at anyone else. The twins were behaving well. Snotlout had dropped his 'I'm better then everyone else' attitude for a few minutes. Fishlegs wasn't asking too many questions.

Michael sat back down, his mind still working overtime to process the email. As such, he totally missed his father asking him a question.

"Michael!" Jason said.

"Wha- Oh, sorry. Yes?"

"You were planning on having them here for the two weeks?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I think Anne and I can manage to get food for the dragons. There's no reason they can't stay."

"Really?" Michael ask, not believing his dragon sense of hearing.

"Sure. It's nice to see that you've finally made some friends who aren't completely game obsessed. Even if they are from another world."

Michael took several seconds to let this soak in. His family was taking this surprisingly well. Michael grinned. These next couple weeks would be great. Then, after that, he could look into The Imaginarium Universia that he'd been sent. Maybe he could make a career out of exploring those worlds. People would probably pay big bucks for things like pictures or scales or strange plants. Maybe he could make enough to pay through university. No doubt Hiccup and Toothless would be right along side him. The future looked bright indeed.

* * *

**A/N 2:** In case you didn't guess, the new series will be called The Imaginarium Universia: The Universe of Imagination. The series will take Michael, Hiccup, and friends on a wild ride to the farthest known (and unknown) corners of the universe. I'll try to touch as many fandoms as possible and keep a copy of The Imaginarium Universia in my account. It will be written as if Michael himself was writing it. It'll be updated as the crew visits various fandoms.

This marks the end of The Worldgate series. It's been a great adventure and I've had a lot of fun writing it. I look forward to seeing all of you when I start The Imaginarium Universia. I'd like to make a big thanks to mohla(dot)mohla, who I'm hoping will continue working with me on The Imaginarium Universia. You've been a great reviewer and your advice has helped me immensely to improve my writing. I hope you'll continue to help me as I launch into this newest venture. Also, big shout to eliasdarklight and Link_Fangirl01 for their kind words about my writing abilities. You guys give me the drive to impress and keep me going. Of course, thanks to all who reviewed, faved, subscribed, and read. See you on the other side.

Wind under your wings, peace in your heart.

G'lek


End file.
